Savage Messiah

"Bless you," she said. She held the glass out for a refill.

As she took another sip, Tyra

When Traax had seen how well the women fought, he had immediately requested permission from the Jin'Sai to grant them warrior status-without the need for the customary rites of ascension. Glad to see that his vision of adding females to the warrior ranks was taking hold, Tristan heartily approved.

Upon seeing the honor of the red feather emblazoned upon the healers' armor more female Minions had requested warrior training. Even the stern Traax-who at first had harbored grave doubts about the prince's idea-now touted the concept every chance he could find. Duvessa found that amusing, but she did not chide him about it.

Ironic, Tyra

Shailiha walked to the gunwale and leaned her arms upon the rail. She smiled to herself as she remembered that she no longer needed Faegan's spell to combat her seasickness. She was begi

But when she turned back around to the others, her face was worried.

"If Wulfgar catches us out here with his Black Ships, do we have any hope of stopping him?" she asked Tyra

Tyra

"I don't know," she answered. "But if you put a dagger to my throat and force me to choose, I would have to say no. Faegan and Wigg seem to believe that the Enseterat will come with his Black Ships first, because they are so much faster. Then the demonslaver war frigates will follow. If the wizards are correct, in the begi

"Remember that day not so long ago in my cabin?" she added. "After K'jarr had described what the Black Ships were capable of, I was practically ready to have him keelhauled! But in the end he was exactly right."

She took another sip of wine as she gathered her thoughts.

"And we still don't know what these seven captains of Wulfgar's are capable of," she added glumly. "Wigg and Faegan claim that they were once powerful wizards. But in their present form, can they still employ the craft? No one knows. But I needn't tell any of you about the kind of destruction seven full-fledged wizards could wreak upon our ships. We might never know what hit us."

Tyra

Shailiha smiled. "I don't think so," she answered. "Sometimes it seems like-"

Two distinct sounds interrupted her. One of them was the peal of the warning bell in the crow's nest. The other was the sound of K'jarr and Scars ru

K'jarr had just returned from a patrol. His wings drooping toward the deck, it was all he could do to catch his breath. Scars had that predatory look on his face that Tyra

"A patrol has found them!" Scars a

Tyra

Still trying to catch his breath, the Minion shook his head.

She nodded. It seems that the crippled wizard Faegan was right after all, she thought. And unless we change course, the Black Ships will soon have the angle on us-in addition to their greater speed. She turned back to K'jarr.

"Do you think they saw you?"

K'jarr shook his head. "I kept the patrol very high. But I'm sure of what I saw. The size of the Black Ships makes them hard to mistake."

Tyra

"That is nearly impossible to say," Adrian answered. "The spell Faegan invoked over the Sisters and Shailiha to cloak our blood continues to hold, but this is the Enseterat we're dealing with, and in many ways his powers dwarf even those of Faegan's. There is simply no telling whether he will be able to sense our blood before he actually sees our fleet. I recommend caution."

Tyra

She looked east. She saw nothing except a calm ocean, but she knew that was about to change. For several moments she calculated the various distances, speeds, and angles in her mind. Finally she turned back to K'jarr.

"Order a messenger to fly to each of our other ships and inform them of the situation," she said. "I want the fleet divided. The northern half is to turn northeast; the southern half is to turn east for two leagues, then turn north. Each ship is to douse all of her lights and go on battle alert. Go now. And tell all of your messengers to hurry. Our lives depend upon it."

K'jarr bowed slightly. "I live to serve," he said. He was gone in an instant.

"What are you pla

After draining the rest of her wine, Tyra

"What I must do, if he is ever to be defeated," she said. "First we will surround him. Then we will attack with all sixty-three ships, and every crewman and Minion we can muster. We have to stop him here." Her jaw set, she looked to the east once more.

"And may the Afterlife save us if we fail."